[Achievement and Philosophy of Studies on SPECT Reconstruction Algorithms].

The purpose of this article is to introduce achievement and philosophy on studies of SPECT reconstruction algorithms which Dr. Eiichi Tanaka dedicated himself to carrying out. The method that Dr.

A random forest algorithm-based approach to capture latent decision variables and their cutoff values.

Although reference intervals (RIs) and clinical decision limits (CDLs) are vital laboratory information for supporting the interpretation of numerical clinical pathology results, there is evidence that RIs and CDLs vary in certain contexts as well as other evidence that RIs and CDLs are flawed. We propose a random forest algorithm-based exploration methodology by using phenotype transformation of independent variables in relation to dependent variables to capture latent decision variables and their cutoff values. We denote certain CDLs within the RIs estimated by an indirect method that affect some diagnostics or outcomes in the context of specific patients' conditions as latent CDLs.

Electronic teaching materials for inter-professional education in a college of medical professionals.

In order to promote the utilization of digital clinical information among medical professionals, an education program and electronic teaching materials involving fictitious model patients were developed for students in a health and welfare college. The purposes of this program were for students to learn the role of each medical professional and to understand the medical records written by each medical staff member in interdisciplinary medicine (a collaborative approach to medicine). The materials for fictitious patients, including medical records, study results, medical images and the associated documents, were stored in a database on a virtual private network.

Development of electronic progress tables for multidisciplinary medical education in a university.

In the education of medical professionals, imitation medical records and associated documents were developed as electronic teaching materials for students in order to teach collaboration among medical professionals such as nurses, therapists and medical social workers. The roles of each medical professional and the flow of clinical practice were taught using progress tables, including medical treatment, clinical examination, and the contents of care, so that the contents of medical examination were understood based on a time series. Students' understanding of the flow of medical practice was evaluated based on the amount of description in the table before and after explanation of the important points of the clinical process concerning each medical professional.

Quantitative analyses of [¹¹C]Ro15-4513 binding to subunits of GABAA/benzodiazepine receptor in the living human brain.

Background: Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A/benzodiazepine (BZ) receptor chloride channel consists of several subunits. The diversity of the α subunits results in the various ligand selectivity and functionally different properties of the GABAA/BZ receptor. Although [¹¹C] Ro15-4513 is reported to be a radioligand that has relatively high affinity for α5 subunit-containing GABAA/BZ receptor, it remained to be evaluated fully.

A statistical clustering approach to visualizing the relationship between early and delayed images in whole-body FDG-PET.

We propose a new method for diagnostic assistance in oncology, [fluorine-18]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D: -glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET). Early and delayed scans were performed on 10 patients with lung cancer by use of an ECAT EXACT 47 PET scanner, and standardized-uptake-value (SUV) images were created. Three segmentation (S1, S2, and S3) maps were created from the early and delayed SUV images according to various thresholds (SUV(threshold) = 2.

Measuring effectiveness of electronic medical records systems: towards building a composite index for benchmarking hospitals.

Introduction: Many hospitals are currently in the process of developing and implementing electronic medical records (EMR) systems. This is a critical time for developing a framework that can measure and allow for comparison the effectiveness of EMR systems across hospitals that have implemented these systems. The motivation for this study comes from the realization that there is limited research on the understanding of the effectiveness of EMR systems, and a lack of appropriate reference theoretical framework for measuring the effectiveness of EMR systems.

Nurses' views on the use, quality and user satisfaction with electronic medical records: questionnaire development.

Aim: This paper is a report of the development of an instrument to measure nurses' views on the use, quality and user satisfaction with electronic medical records systems.

Background: Use of electronic medical records systems in hospitals is steadily increasing, yet no validated instruments have assessed the effectiveness of these systems from the viewpoint of nurses.

Method: Items were designed following a literature review based on three main constructs: use, quality and user satisfaction with electronic medical records.

Quantitative analysis for estimating binding potential of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor with [(11)C]DAA1106.

[(11)C]DAA1106 is a potent and selective ligand for the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) with high affinity. It has been reported that the density of PBR is related to brain damage, so a reliable tracer method for the evaluation of PBR would be of use. We evaluated a quantification method of [(11)C]DAA1106 binding in simulated data and human brain data.

Quantitative in vivo measurement of central benzodiazepine receptors in the brain of cats by use of positron-emission tomography and [11C]flumazenil.

Objective: To map central benzodiazepine receptors (BZRs) in the brain of cats by use of positron-emission tomography (PET) and [11C]flumazenil.

Animals: 6 male cats that weighed between 2.0 and 3.

Increased regional cerebral blood flow but normal distribution of GABAA receptor in the visual cortex of subjects with early-onset blindness.

Before the completion of visual development, visual deprivation impairs synaptic elimination in the visual cortex. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the distribution of central benzodiazepine receptor (BZR) is also altered in the visual cortex in subjects with early-onset blindness. Positron emission tomography was carried out with [(15)O]water and [(11)C]flumazenil on six blind subjects and seven sighted controls at rest.

Fast determination method of cerebral metabolic rate images of glucose using dynamic PET data.

Measurement of the rate constant parameters of the tracer 18F-FDG, used with positron emission tomography (PET) to determine the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRGlc), can provide a clear understanding of the physiological processes in the human brain. At present, the methods that are widely used to obtain CMRGlc, such as nonlinear least squares (NLS), first require the reconstruction of a time sequence of images. The reconstruction of these images requires a large amount of computation, especially in 3D Depth-of Interaction PET (DOI-PET), and the nonlinear based methods also require a large amount of computation.

Adenosine A2A receptor imaging with [11C]KF18446 PET in the rat brain after quinolinic acid lesion: comparison with the dopamine receptor imaging.

We proposed [11C]KF18446 as a selective radioligand for mapping the adenosine A2A receptors being highly enriched in the striatum by positron emission tomography (PET). In the present study, we investigated whether [11C]KF18446 PET can detect the change in the striatal adenosine A2A receptors in the rat after unilateral injection of an excitotoxin quinolinic acid into the striatum, a Huntington's disease model, to demonstrate the usefulness of [11C]KF18446. The extent of the striatal lesion was identified based on MRI, to which the PET was co-registered.

Template-based method for multiple volumes of interest of human brain PET images.

Specific region-based analysis for the quantification of brain imaging is very time-consuming work and subject to errors in both accuracy and reproducibility. In this study, we assessed a two-step template-based method for defining volumes of interest (VOIs). The first step was the spatial transformation of the VOI template from a model MRI to an individual MRI with SPM99.

Positron emission tomography and ex vivo and in vitro autoradiography studies on dopamine D2-like receptor degeneration in the quinolinic acid-lesioned rat striatum: comparison of [11C]raclopride, [11C]nemonapride and [11C]N-methylspiperone.

With [11C]raclopride,[11C]nemonapride and [11C]N-methylspiperone, degeneration of dopamine D2-like receptors in the unilaterally quinolinic acid-lesioned rats was evaluated by positron emission tomography (PET) and ex vivo and in vitro autoradiography. PET showed a decreased uptake of [11C]raclopride in the lesioned striatum, but an increased uptake of [11C]nemonapride and [11C]N-methylspiperone despite a decreased binding in vitro. Ex vivo autoradiography showed an increased accumulation of the three ligands in the cortical region overlying the injured striatum, probably enlarging PET signals.

Quantitative analysis for estimating binding potential of the brain serotonin transporter with [11 C]McN5652.

[11C](+)McN5652 is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor with subnanomolar potency for the serotonin transporter, and is currently being used for positron emission tomography studies. However, quantification of the regional [11C](+)McN5652 binding potential in vivo is a controversial issue because of its complex characteristics. The authors examined the regional differences in nonspecific binding and proposed simple methods for estimating the binding potential of [11C](+)McN5652.

Mapping adenosine A(1) receptors in the cat brain by positron emission tomography with [(11)C]MPDX.

We evaluated the potential of [(11)C]MPDX as a radioligand for mapping adenosine A(1) receptors in comparison with previously proposed [(11)C]KF15372 in cat brain by PET. Two tracers showed the same brain distribution. Brain uptake of [(11)C]MPDX (Ki = 4.